A fugitive drug baron on the run in Spain has been arrested after armed police swooped on his car.

David Mather was detained while travelling through La Linea, close to the border with Gibraltar, in a joint operation between Spanish and British police.

The 57-year-old, from Salford, Greater Manchester, was convicted in his absence in January last year at Sheffield Crown Court of conspiracy to import heroin and sentenced to 18 years.

A freight company owned by Mather was involved in the logistics and movement of a lorry stopped at Humber Sea Terminal in May 2010.

Thirty-two wrapped packages of heroin were found in the bumper.

It is believed the vehicle had been used on a number of occasions to import similar amounts of drugs into the UK.

Mather will now be extradited back to the UK to serve his sentence.

Hank Cole, head of international operations for the National Crime Agency, said: "Mather was using false identity documents to try and evade capture but we were able to track him down.

"It demonstrates the NCA and its partners have the capability to pursue fugitives wherever they are in the world."

Lord Ashcroft, founder and chairman of Crimestoppers, said: "The charity is obviously delighted by this latest arrest as this is the second Operation Captura subject to have been located since the turn of the year, which is a great result."

Mather's arrest means Operation Captura Unlucky 13 has caught 58 out of its list of 76 wanted individuals living abroad.